Military (Navy) Combined Med-Peds

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healthwonk

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I am a first year osteopathic medical student on Navy HPSP. I am interested in (maybe) doing a combined med-peds residency down the road, but military GME does not offer such a combined program. Are there any military docs out there who are board-certified in both medicine and peds? I'm wondering if it's possible to "tailor" my Navy GME training by doing a transitional internship, then trying to do Med and Peds residencies back-to-back. Any thoughts or comments are welcome!

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I am a first year osteopathic medical student on Navy HPSP. I am interested in (maybe) doing a combined med-peds residency down the road, but military GME does not offer such a combined program. Are there any military docs out there who are board-certified in both medicine and peds? I'm wondering if it's possible to "tailor" my Navy GME training by doing a transitional internship, then trying to do Med and Peds residencies back-to-back. Any thoughts or comments are welcome!

I think that your only hope is to try to get them to defer you out to civilian training, but as they don't offer that program, as far as I know, I'm not sure that they will allow you to do it. Of course, you could just pay out your time and get out. That would solve all your problems. They have no incentive to let you do med-peds. The chance of them allowing you apply for a second residency after successfully completing one is zero. It's not like a fellowship, it gives them nothing. The needs of the Navy always come first.
 
I think that your only hope is to try to get them to defer you out to civilian training, but as they don't offer that program, as far as I know, I'm not sure that they will allow you to do it. Of course, you could just pay out your time and get out. That would solve all your problems. They have no incentive to let you do med-peds. The chance of them allowing you apply for a second residency after successfully completing one is zero. It's not like a fellowship, it gives them nothing. The needs of the Navy always come first.
In the Army it is not unheard of to complete two residencies; though I have never personally heard of someone doing peds and IM. Is that a difference between the two services?
 
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This is no longer the case! We have several residents graduating from a Med/Peds residency this summer! They are few and far between...but it does happen now.

Interesting. News to me. Don't really understand but I guess they get a general internist for a little longer this way.
 
Interesting. News to me. Don't really understand but I guess they get a general internist for a little longer this way.

I personally think it's a bad idea for someone to do both...gives the Navy more opportunities to screw one over. You will also likely end up doing just one and not the other.
 
I think it's the same thing for med-psych. It's frustrating in the clinic when one of the docs have to leave a couple days a week to do medicine clinic. Why not just pick one or the other?
 
Interesting. News to me. Don't really understand but I guess they get a general internist for a little longer this way.

I personally think it's a bad idea for someone to do both...gives the Navy more opportunities to screw one over. You will also likely end up doing just one and not the other.

A few years ago there were a couple of students approved for full deferments for Med/Peds. I agree that they will likely end up working as internists with an occasional visit to the Peds clinic. You get stuck were the needs are, and we tend to be short on IM and not Peds. The problem is there are not Med/Peds billets, so you fill one or the other. Where we need docs to see both, we put FP and add some OB to the plate.
 
A few years ago there were a couple of students approved for full deferments for Med/Peds. I agree that they will likely end up working as internists with an occasional visit to the Peds clinic. You get stuck were the needs are, and we tend to be short on IM and not Peds. The problem is there are not Med/Peds billets, so you fill one or the other. Where we need docs to see both, we put FP and add some OB to the plate.
Thanks to all who responded; this is great feedback. I am weighing the options of whether to go FP, or IM and/or Peds. My initial thought was with FP, I'd be doing mostly outpatient clinic, and I'd like some hospital/in-patient experience. But, I'm guessing in the military, FP's get a little of both in-and-outpatient, plus Peds and OB when needed. Sounds like FP may be the best of both worlds if I'm interested in that scope of practice.
 
Thanks to all who responded; this is great feedback. I am weighing the options of whether to go FP, or IM and/or Peds. My initial thought was with FP, I'd be doing mostly outpatient clinic, and I'd like some hospital/in-patient experience. But, I'm guessing in the military, FP's get a little of both in-and-outpatient, plus Peds and OB when needed. Sounds like FP may be the best of both worlds if I'm interested in that scope of practice.

All three of these are primarily outpatient specialties. IM potentially can lead to hospitalist work but there are no dedicated hospitalists in the Navy.
 
Not that many people moonlight in IM. But its there if you want it.
This is off-topic but I don't feel like starting a new thread.

What opportunities are there generally for non-ER trained docs to moonlight? Can any primary care doc work in a smaller community ER? Are there any specialties that are almost never capable of moonlighting (in any capacity)?
 
This is off-topic but I don't feel like starting a new thread.

What opportunities are there generally for non-ER trained docs to moonlight? Can any primary care doc work in a smaller community ER? Are there any specialties that are almost never capable of moonlighting (in any capacity)?
When I was at NMCSD there was, at times, only one neurosurgeon, one CV surgeon and one vascular surgeon. No moonlighting when you are on call 24/7 for emergencies. The vascular surgeon, who was one of one for a long time, asked one day how much we made when we were moonlighting in anesthesia. I thought that he was going to have a seizure. The stunned silence was followed by an anti navy tirade and a whirlwind of profanity.:laugh:
 
This is off-topic but I don't feel like starting a new thread.

What opportunities are there generally for non-ER trained docs to moonlight? Can any primary care doc work in a smaller community ER? Are there any specialties that are almost never capable of moonlighting (in any capacity)?

What he said. Highly variable based on your practice situation, your current command's view on moonlighting, local opportunities. Can't really generalize at all.
 
This is no longer the case! We have several residents graduating from a Med/Peds residency this summer! They are few and far between...but it does happen now.
Thank you for sharing that there are several residents finishing up Med-Peds programs. Are you aware if which programs they have been involved with? I am assuming these residents would have done FTOS programs versus FTIS, as I'm unaware of any DoD GME programs combining Med/Peds. Thank you for your time!
 
Thank you for sharing that there are several residents finishing up Med-Peds programs. Are you aware if which programs they have been involved with? I am assuming these residents would have done FTOS programs versus FTIS, as I'm unaware of any DoD GME programs combining Med/Peds. Thank you for your time!

The one's that I'm aware of are all civilian deferred. I don't believe any of them are FTOS (hence funded) and no...currently there are no military combined meds/peds programs.
 
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